Greetings from Maine, the state so lovingly dubbed "The Pine Tree State".
And no, it's not part of Canada, and yes we do get hot weather in the summer.
I'm a wife and mom with a Culinary Arts degree. I have over a dozen years of working professionally with food, and a great passion for getting a good meal into my family's belly and teaching home cooks how to cook!
Here you'll find recipes that will take the guesswork out of what the heck to make for dinner. These dishes are made with simple ingredients (plus lots of tips for substituting and ingredient swapping), loads of flavor, and come together with no fuss.
The goal of Barefoot In The Pines is to give you the confidence to get in the kitchen and make a spectacular meal for the family and try a recipe you've always wanted to make!
We're here to make things as clear and simple as possible. I can't help it, I'm a New Englander and we like everything simple and to the point.
I hope you take away a good recipe, a chuckle or two, and create a memory of your own to pass on.
About Michelle
Born and raised in Portland, Maine, my sister and I are first-generation Mainers. My parents are from little towns in New York and moved here in the early 80's.
I've lived all over Portland growing up, and took a quick break to live in Yarmouth with my now husband for a year, but after we got married we came right back to Portland.
Maine has a little bit of something for everyone. Portland has a beautiful downtown area, with great restaurants, a beautiful waterfront, and lots of great parks and places to take kids.
To the south, we have gorgeous stretches of beaches and beautiful little beach towns to play in.
Head up north and you'll be surrounded by forests and Acadia National Park and everything beautiful nature can throw at you.
I'm never leaving. You'll have to drag me kicking and screaming.
Cooking Career
Food and creating dishes have always been a passion of mine. After graduating high school, I enrolled in my local college's Culinary Arts Program and got my Associate Degree in Culinary Arts.
Immediately following graduation, I received a job opportunity to work in a bakery, which was a dream of mine.
I worked at the little bakery in Portland, ME for two years, where I met my now husband and learned so much about baking, and timing, and how to properly flip loaves of bread out of a loaf pan.
After leaving the bakery I worked in the corporate world for a bit all while starting my own bakery "Ragamuffins Baking Co". There I specialized in cheesecakes, cookies, and custom cakes.
After having my kiddo in 2017, I became a stay-at-home mom, and I pursued my passion for recipe development and educating others on how to make simple dishes, confidently and successfully. I'm also currently a recipe developer for the websites Mashed and Health Digest. I still can't believe I get to call this "work"!
Favorite Dishes to Make
I'm a baker by nature, and my love language is cheesecake. I'm partial to a traditional NY Style Cheesecake, especially mini cheesecakes with a fruit topping.
When it comes to breakfast, I'm absolutely a sweets girl. These Orange Almond Muffins on the blog right now are my favorite breakfast treat, and I of course love a warm batch of blueberry muffins.
Cookies are my passion, especially anything with a "chip" in it is my favorite. I'm obsessed with these white chocolate chip cookies.
Hobbies
Well, it shouldn't be a secret that I'm obsessed with cooking--especially baking.
My dad's a great baker, so I'm sure that's where I picked it up.
Cheesecake is my absolute favorite thing to make. It's just so darn delicious and you can make so many variations!
I had a small business called "Ragamuffin's Baking Co" for a couple of years--specializing in cheesecakes and cookies. Our chocolate cheesecake even won first place at a local cooking competition one year! It was one of my proudest moments.
My other hobbies include various craft and art projects, I can't commit to one type of crafting, I just love making stuff!
I'm a big fan of downtime if I can find any! When I do, I listen to a lot of podcasts and watch mom Vlogs on YouTube. Oh and large family grocery hauls. I love those videos.
Family
I've been busy for the past decade! My husband and I got married in 2014--
We had a surprise wedding. We tricked our moms and my sister to come over to our apartment one night and we didn't tell them until about ½ hour before the ceremony that they were going to a wedding. It was perfect!
We got married in May and bought our house in June--and moved in on closing day.
We got our dog, Duke, in May 2015 and our black cat, Harper, in October 2015. They are some of the best critters that have come into my life.
In December 2017 our daughter was born and our family was complete. I'm extremely fortunate to be her mom and I love watching her grow and become a strong, independent little lady.
Thank you so much for stopping by the blog and reading a little about me and my family!